I can't help but feeling that my question is probably a bit silly, like I'm missing something obvious, but I'm stumped.

I now have a nice Crown Graphic 4x5 with a Graflok back. I've also bought a Horseman 6x7 roll film holder, assuming that it would work properly with my Crown Graphic. The problem is that for the life of me I can't see how the Horseman is meant to stay in place.

First I remove the ground-glass back by pushing down on both spring clips and sliding it off to the right. Then I place the Horseman on the back of the camera where the ground-glass back was. The Horseman fits in that space nice and snug, but how do I make it stay in place? I can't see any clips or connectors which would do the job.

My guess is that I've either bought the wrong kind of roll film back for this camera, or I'm missing some kind of clip or bracket on the camera's back. Or I'm just doing something stupid

Any suggestions? (I can post a picture of the equipment if it helps)

(I do have some sheet film holders so that I could use 4x5 film, but I'm currently waiting on the film to arrive in the post, and in the meantime I'd hoped to try some roll film.)

Your camera should have two horizontal chrome sliders around (one above and one under) the rectangular hole. Slide them in to secure the holder into place, then slide them out to free it when you want to remove the holder.

Your camera should have two horizontal chrome sliders around (one above and one under) the rectangular hole. Slide them in to secure the holder into place, then slide them out to free it when you want to remove the holder.

There are chrome brackets, one above and one below the opening, but I don't see how they could move (they're firmly screwed into place at each end). They're almost as wide as the camera back, and have a tab that sticks out at each end, and have a dark smaller bit of metal screwed on top of each of them.

Mine is like the one on that page labelled "The Graflok back", and also in the photo labelled "A Graflok with the focusing panel removed". But I can't see how I can move the metal bars to hold the adapter in place...

I've also looked through various manual PDFs and photos online, but I can't find the trick, which makes me think I'm missing something obvious.

Thanks for posting the link, referring to it will make explanations easier.

Look at their picture "A Graflok with the focusing panel removed."

The two chromed strips with tabs should slide. Try moving yours. If they don't move, loosen the screws a little and try again.

The chromed strips have two positions, "out of the way" and "holding something on." Move your cameras strips out of the way, put your Horseman roll holder on, taking care to slide it as far to the left (as seen from the rear) as possible. Then slide the strips to the "holding something" position. If they won't go over the holder's edges, loosen their screws a little.

The two chromed strips with tabs should slide. Try moving yours. If they don't move, loosen the screws a little and try again.

Great, that's done the trick, I now have the roll film adapter sitting snugly in position! I think the screws on those strips were too tight to start with which is why I didn't realise that they are meant to slide diagonally into place.

Now I get to play with some roll film in my new Crown Graphic for a few days until my sheet film arrives in the post.

Dan, did I say something wrong or is it just a matter of explaining it ???

Now that I understand things better, I think you both were very helpful and correct in your replies, it's just that Dan's explanation suited my newbie way of thinking better

I'm pleased to report that I've now successfully shot a roll of 120 film through this camera; it's the first proper use of this camera since I've bought it. I took a variety of photos, some indoor and some outdoors, and mixing up the apertures too.

I used the Kalart RF to focus, and it appears to be spot-on. The indoor shots look great, the outdoor shots a bit overexposed but that may have been my metering being a bit vague.

Unfortunately a couple of times I forgot to remove the dark slide, so I wasted a few shots which is my own fault of course. (Does it matter if you leave the dark slide removed, or should it be replaced when possible?)

I plan to shoot a couple more rolls of 120 using this Horseman back before I get brave and try some 4x5 sheet film, and try to develop them in my new Combi Plan tank... And once I get the hang of that I'll try to work out how to use the flash. So much to learn!

It doesn't matter if you leave the darkslide off with a Crown because the shutter inside the lens remains closed when you cock it.

It strongly matters with a Speed because the slot in the curtain moves along the sheet and the lens shutter is open. That means a ghost exposure of whatever is in front of the camera and a ruined sheet.

And don't forget your darslide somewhere, and remember to put it back when you remove the holder.

(Does it matter if you leave the dark slide removed, or should it be replaced when possible?)

Depends on the shutter you have on the camera. Some will leak a little light when cocking them. I have done both, replace the darkslide after each shot and left it out while advancing the film and cocking the shutter without any ill effects. You may want to test your setup.

Tip: Do not advance the film until you are ready to shoot the shot. Store it on the last shot taken then advance the film when you are ready to shoot the next time out. The film will be flatter when exposed.

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before I get brave and try some 4x5 sheet film, and try to develop them in my new Combi Plan tank...

getting good results from a Combi is a challange but can be done, many use them as a dip and dunk system. Get a Jobo 2521 tank and 2502 and 2509n reels then you can do either 120 (2502) or 4x5 (2509n). You can add extension modules and more reels to do more than 6 sheets or 4 rolls of 120 at a time.

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And once I get the hang of that I'll try to work out how to use the flash. So much to learn!